By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor

Pulling up to the SoundPlex Studios parking lot, you can tell this isn’t your traditional office space. The giveaway could be the giant Led Zeppelin poster with the iconic lantern-holding hermit or the Abbey Road street sign that leads you to the main doors. Upon entering, you’re greeted with pictures of big band icons like Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller alongside jazz legends Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald; photos of Elvis and that “other” Frank Sinatra atop a piano; as well as album covers and posters from David Bowie, the Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead, among others. The multilevel space exudes creativity, making the Pennsauken-based business the perfect incubator for art, music, podcasts, and more.

The building that is now SoundPlex Studios got its start over 100 years ago as the Perkins Dairy Building. It eventually housed a bottling company and was even used by the iconic Dick Clark during the 1950s. SoundPlex owner George Koch purchased the building in 2002 from a local furniture store company, Menchel McDonald, who used it for storage. Koch, who was heavily involved in business development for the healthcare sector, initially used it for warehousing and office space. But over time, the building was eventually rented out for a period to the Victor Talking Machine Company, with plans to build upon its tradition of music production. During COVID, George decided to combine his love of art and music into the SoundPlex, investing a lot of his hard-earned money in improvements. Today, SoundPlex Studios is a unique and fluid place for business professionals and creatives to work together.

“SoundPlex is a ‘third place,’” explained Koch. “It’s not your home; it’s not your work; it’s where you go to be inspired, connect, collaborate, and then all those things kind of just work together.”

In the two years of its existence, SoundPlex Studios estimates that 10,000 creative hours have been generated within its walls. The space is highly versatile, making it ideal for a wide range of artistic and professional projects. On any given day, you might find painters teaching fine art classes, businesses livestreaming quarterly meetings, photographers capturing product images, local bands filming music videos, audiences enjoying live comedy, professionals hosting clients for meetings, and much more.
“We can hold networking mixers and tie in some kind of entertainment,” explained Koch “We’ve shot our eighth music video here, and everyone who does it is referenced by someone who’s done it here before. We’ve had jazz musicians here; piano players, saxophone players with real cool dim lights and candles and people just love it. And it does appeal to corporate, because they’re always looking for something different.”

SoundPlex can even host a podcast in their state-of-the-art studio for clients to showcase their business and what makes it special.
“We’re up to about 20 podcasts right now and each one does really well on social media,” said Koch. “We get 16,000 impressions, 20,000 impressions, because I keep it light and fun and we promote it and boost it. We also clip it and get all these really great sound bites and clients use it to promote their business.

“When you create different types of environments, people will come because this is hard to mimic. You can’t copy this. This is completely unique. We have all the tools and the cameras and the recordings and the technology. We leverage all that because now we can bundle it and it’s all under one roof.”

Rooms at SoundPlex Studios can be rented on an hourly basis, depending on project. There’s also the Plex Collective, where for a monthly fee, artists, creatives, and business professionals alike can gain access to networking, collaborative, and creative opportunities. For more information, visit SoundPlexStudios.com or call (609) 697-2077.